On one hand, young people seem to be very committed to inclusivity and hold typically progressive social views. But this doesn’t mean they all treat each other well. Between 2014 and 2018 identity-based bullying for 11-15 year olds all increased & the pandemic doesn't appear to have significantly altered this trend. Whilst different measures of bullying related to Ethnicity suggest it may have dropped in the last 4 years (from 29% to 26% for 11-15s who are not White British) there are still increases in both disability and sexuality-based bullying and 1 in 4 still say in 2022 that they have experienced some form of sexual harrassment.

This contradiction extends to the way they manage difference. A Channel 4 survey in 2022 coined the term YIPS (Young Illiberal Progressives) to describe the nearly 50% of young people who said that ‘cancelling’ people is okay, and the quarter who don’t have much tolerance for people with different beliefs to them.¹

Perhaps what's most striking in this chart though, is the rise in sexual harassment. It may be that young people’s awareness of sexual harassment increased as a result of the #MeToo movement gaining momentum in 2017 after the Harvey Weinstein. Sadly things still aren't looking great on that front. A 2021 Ofsted Rapid Review found that harmful sexual behaviours are happening so frequently that some young people think it's just normal. Even though schools are saying, "Speak out about it!" many young people are scared to do so, fearing they won't be believed or might get blamed. It's a real struggle, and it shows we've got some work to do in making our schools safer and more supportive places.²